"The free play of art is the result of mastery. " --Ernst Fischer, The Necessity of Art

"Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them." --Ladybird Johnson

"...a well-trained ear, a well-trained intelligence, a well-trained heart, and a well-trained hand...." --Zoltan Kodaly

2/4/10

Daily Life, 19

Walking down the hall beside a row of Kindergarteners who were headed back to their classroom after Library. One little girl was trying to tell me something but kept getting distracted by the hiccups.

Me: Brayden*, let's listen to those hiccups. Sometimes that makes 'em go away.

After a moment or two of walking, no noise, she smiled at me and I started to go back into my classroom. Suddenly, there was a loud hiccup from the line--loud enough to make me turn around to see what'd happened.

Brayden* (giggling) Oh! There goes one.
Me: What happened? I thought they went away for good.
Brayden: Nope. I hiccuped in my tummy.




Heading down the hall to the 5th grade wing a bit later, one of the 5th grade girls was walking very slowly, head down, not saying anything.

Me: Samantha*, are you OK?
Sam*: Not really.
Me: Is it something you want to talk about?
Sam*: Well, my aunt just had a baby and we were all excited. And last night,
the baby died.


Such a mixture of pain and joy in life, each day.


*Brayden and Samantha* are, of course, not these children's names.

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